Senate Panel Would Fund NEH, NEA at 2017 Levels

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released a 2018 spending bill Monday that would keep the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts at their 2017 funding levels, in contrast with the Trump administration's recommendations.

The Senate legislation to fund the Interior Department and other agencies would provide $149 million to both cultural endowments, the same as last year. The Trump administration's 2018 budget plan proposed eliminating the agencies, but it was rebuffed by the Senate panel as well as the House of Representatives appropriations panel, which recommended $145 million for each agency.